Customer Reviews

Skullcandy SC-NC Proletariat Noise Canceling Headphones

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I was scheduled for a business trip to Beijing, and wanted to score some noise cancelling headphones to make the 14+ hour plane ride bearable, but didn't want to drop hundreds on the BOSE headphones. I found these, and although skeptical, figured they couldn't be any WORSE than no noise canceling at all. Got them quickly via Amazon shipping, and got a chance to try them out with the vacuum cleaner before the flight, and they seemed to work okay. MAN...was I surprised when I got them on the flight, flipped on the noise cancelling switch, and heard the dull roar of 747 engines drop into the background, and only pure music/sound come out of the headphones. Just to test, I shut the noise cancelling off, and was immediately assaulted by the engine noise. Switching the noise cancelling back on, I enjoyed the successful elimination of 80+% of the engine noise, with no dampening of the natural frequencies. I used it for my Archos MP3 player, my PSP, and the in-flight movies...all with NO problems what so ever. On top of that, the duracells I had put in the headphones lasted me the entire flight to Beijing, and the whole flight home. I would TOTALLY recommend these headphones to anyone who does any travel at all...they provide AMAZING sound, with excellent noise cancelling, for a COMPLETELY OUTRAGEOUS price. Bose better watch their backs...Skullcandy is on the warpath! Screw hundreds of dollars spent on the Bose...buy these headphones!!

Be sure to read my comparison over at the Sennheiser PXC-250. I compared them head-to-head and I recommend you do the same.

The problem with headphones is that you really need to try them on and listen to them to decided. I'm a bit of an audio snob and I didn't like the way the SCs NC screwed with the sound. That said, the Sennheisers sounded great but absolutely sucked in terms of ergonomics. And everything sennheiser did wrong, SkullCandy got right.

If you could get Sennheiser's sound engineering in SkullCandy's design, Bose wouldn't get away with selling their $300 headphones.

BTW, search around. The same headphones are sold under other brands. I've seen Logitech and Symphony branded headphones that looked and spec'd identical to the SkullCandy's.

We have to be careful here. It is not a good idea to use the standards which are applied to judging regular audio headphones to noise canceling headphones.

Of course noise canceling headphones are not going to perform as well as regular high end headphones.....after all these are noise canceling.

The sound is a bit muffled, and a bit heavy on the low frequency. But when I adjust my EQ to boost the treble the sound comes through much more balanced and pleasing.

I did not buy these headphones to rival my high end headphones I use at home, I bought them to be able to travel in comfort and without the draining drone of jet engines and other ambient noise while traveling. And let me tell you, for these purposes, these headphone are surpurb! They are very comfortable for extended listening, they produce a quiet that allows for a restful sleep, and the music quality is quite acceptable for the listening I do on planes and in airports.

And holy smokes for the price that Amazon is selling them for now, you just simply cannot go wrong.

[Please note: I give this product 4 stars, not 2. I could not change that].

The headphones basically do what they claim to do. They are light and comfortable. I like the design. They look a lot like the first Bose version, but are a bit bigger. The batteries go into the headphone part, so there is no clumsy "battery box" externally, which is nice. Sound I would rate a 6 or 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best). Noise cancellation is pretty decent. There is a minor problem with the NC, though. When mine is turned and I am plugged into a laptop or Ipod, I get a loud buzzing noise. When I unplug the Ipod from the wall power source, the buzzing stops. If that bugs you, I would not recommend them. But they are decent when you are not hooked into a wall power source, and are very similar to Bose's NC headphones, which cost about 6 times more. I can recommend them, for this price. Would be good on a plane trip if you are not a "snob" in terms of sound.

Of course Bose are the best but I could not phantom paying $300 for headphones that I use only when I fly, and I fly a lot. Skullcandy only has to improve the sound quality a little bit and Bose will be history. The noise cancellation is excellent, the comfort is good and the sound is fair. There are a lot of bogus noise canceling headphones out there in high and low price ranges. This a good deal in both the high and low
price category.

At $52 dollars you will be hard pressed to find a better deal.

My previous experience with noise cancellation has been mostly with aviation headsets, and in light planes and helicopters they are a necessity (if you value your hearing). Bose are the gold standard in aviation, but I don't think a gold-plated price is necessary unless you trying to understand ATC. I have used these Skullcandy headphones in a variety of environments including while vacuuming my living room and am quite pleased with the noise cancellation. I tried some Sonys and they really do seem to be trying to drown the noise with static, and Sennheisers bump up the volume when noise canceling is turned on, so I can't tell if they really cancel anything. For less than $60, I couldn't find anything as good as Skullcandy. They are probably the best thing price-wise this side of Bose.

I received my headphones and was surprised that I did not get what I ordered. I was supposed to get the Skull Candy brand but received Amp'd Mobile brand. There was a note stating that these are the same as the Skull Candy, maybe, maybe not. What I do know is they are not what I ordered. Skull Candy has a great warranty concerning breakage and that is part of the reason I ordered these. I think I'm going to file a complaint with my credit card company so that they are not charged. I can't believe Amazon allows this!

I recently purchased these headphones after my Sony MDR-NC6 headphones broke after a year of heavy use. The Skullcandy headphones were purchased primarily for use on plane and also in an office environment. These headphones do an excellent job of blocking out noise typical of an office environment and did a decent job on the plane (there was still a bit of noise that got through). Overall, the noise canceling for these headphones work great and works without the hissing and popping that I often heard with my old Sony headphones. In terms of the sound quality, it is a little on the quiet side, but still sounds pretty good. The sound quality is the only reason why I didn't give these headphones 5 stars. Also, as another reviewer mentioned his concern with the battery life, I pretty much had the noise canceling on for about a 40 hour work week before the batteries died.

Noise Canceling - 5
Sound Quality - 4
Durability - 5
Portability - 4
Comfort - 4

Just used this headphones on a 16hr flight to Asia. 2AAA batteries lasted almost the entire trip. The noise canceling feature started to sound distorted as the batteries started to die. The padding could be better along the top. Started to hurt and the pressure on the ears also started to become uncomfortable. But, it did do the job. Barely heard the crying baby through the entire trip. The airplane adapter worked perfectly but on one of the older planes had the larger plug 1/4" and this set lacked the adapter. Music was clear and bass was solid. For the price, you cant beat this!!

I received these headphones about two days after I ordered them with standard shipping. The package was difficult to open but after some intense scissoring I got the headphones out. My first impression was that they looked a little fragile though this really wasn't the case, they are quite sturdy.If they break on their own, skull candy replaces them free of charge, if you destroy them, you can get another set for 50% off.

Music Experience:
They play well, even without being "switched on", though the sound is a little muddy. When they are switched on however the sounds are impressive, bright and crisp. There is some noticeable music leakage, though far less then the SC TI. They come with an adapter for the plane as well. The Noise canceling function is very nice though even when turned off and the music at a decent level, it would be hard to hear someone talk unless they were in your face screaming. When no music is playing there is a slight, though pleasant, white noise and all background sounds dissipate except some talking, which is to be expected.

Comfort: I have read reviews that state that this set is uncomfortable and too tight. I and my all normal head-sized friends and family state that they are comfortable, however I can say that after long periods of time, they can become uncomfortable without adjusting. I think you have to get accustomed to them.

My father was so Impressed with these headphones for this price-range that he said they were "the best things he ever heard" and had me order him some.

Pros:
Very portable,
Not huge but they are stylish,
Cheap on Amazon, Ships fast,
removable wiring,
lifetime warranty,
excellent sound quality,
comfortable with some adjusting, unless your the elephant man.(edit: More noticeably uncomfortable than not, espescially if you wear glasses, however they do feel better when you grow acustomed to them)

Cons:
Some sound leakage at higher volumes
mine didn't come with link system, but I didn't really want it
slight muddyness --when not turned on--, though not noticeable if you never hear how it sounds when turned on or if you have not had access to higher quality headphones.

Would recommend for this for someone who, like me, enjoys high quality sound without shelling out $300+ for Bose Qc2 or similar. I think at this level of sound quality the other 250$ are wasted unless you really have a need for the much higher priced but comparable headphones.